South African rail and port operator Transnet has signed deals worth US$1.1bn to renew its locomotive fleet and has invested US$161mn to expand facilities at the port of Ngqura at the Eastern Cape Province
The locomotive fleet is supplied by GE and Bombardier. The US Export Import (Exim) Bank will guarantee US$484mn in loans to be provided by Barclays Africa Group Ltd., Standard Bank Group Ltd. and Old Mutual Plc to GE to manufacture 293 locomotives, said Brian Molefe, CEO of Transnet. Export Development Canada and Investec Bank Ltd will provide US$565mn in loans to Bombardier, he added.
The company is expected to take delivery of the locomotives by GE by July 2015.
In addition, the company is also investing in US$161mn to add ship berths and vital equipment for the port of Ngqura, in addition to the US$968mn already spent on the development of the port. The port is a deepwater facility, with a depth of nearly 18 metres and has a 60 hectare container terminal with a capacity of two million TEUs. The port can service post-Panamax dry and liquid bulkers as well as new generation cellular container ships.
Equipment procured for the expansion included 18 rubber-tyred gantries, 48 bathtub trailers, two megamax ship-to-shore cranes and 48 haulers. Work is also being undertaken to deepen two additional berths to a depth of 16 metres.
